Irresistible Freedom
by LyssaWinterlace
Summary: Angry, scared and determined, Harry Potter takes a leap of faith and runs away from home. Slowly realising the REAL reason he was kept at the Dursley's each summer... (Rating Subject To Change)
1. Chapter 1

**_IRRESISTIBLE_**

_Chapter 1:_

_..._

The sun was searing above them all, bearing down on London. Kings Cross station had people billowing in and out of it, cars beeped and trundled about.

And a thin boy in oversized clothes looked up at a clearly furious, rotund man,

"What?!"

"Keep your voice down if you don't want to cause a scene!" Harry hissed, his Uncle's lips pursed into a very thin line but did as instructed by his slip of a nephew. The two behind Uncle Vernon's shiny, silver car with only the amber eyes of Hedwig the snowy owl their witnesses, "I just think... maybe it would be best if I went... somewhere else this summer."

The stutter, the timidity. It was a front, Harry Potter feeling dirty for sounding so pathetic, but Uncle Vernon was surprisingly against the idea of Harry not actually coming back with him to Privet Drive this summer.

A split second thought that rooted in his brain as a good idea just as he'd said his last goodbye to Hermione and stomped over to his Uncle with the words already at his lips,

"So, I've driven all the bloody way out here and you NOW want to, what, scurry off with your kind instead of coming back?!" Harry's Uncle growled out, his cheeks reddening more and more as he spoke, towering over his nephew with a dark glare on his face, "After that... stunt you pulled at the end of the summer you have some nerve being this selfish."

"It's not like you want me there anyway." Harry huffed a bit, crossing his arms and feeling confident enough to glare back up at the bulbous man in his strained, three-piece granite grey suit. "Tch, look. I don't want to be at Little Whinging, you don't want me there either. Why are we arguing?"  
A pregnant pause, the man and the boy staring one another down,

"You'd better promise me that I don't see you, AT ALL, this summer." Vernon snarled, drawing himself up to his full height as his moustache wobbled.

"If I had my way you'd never see me again." Harry snapped, the man bristled again and truly looked like he'd strike the boy. Harry flinched a bit but was quick to straighten his back and snap his hands to the luggage trolley, "I'm leaving."  
"Get lost, boy." A hiss Harry heard when he turned his back to the man and made to sweep out of the car park.

His steps were fast, despite his skinny arms quickly burning from shoving the trolley ever forward. It was only when he saw Uncle Vernon's car whiz out and past him (with nary a glance his way from the driver) that he allowed a grin to explode onto his face.

Freedom! Merlin, he should have done this last year too!

Though, maybe he wouldn't have thought of it had he not been given those bars on his window and the flap on the door. The light, faint feeling that gathered in his head as the walls closed in, the mournful hoots of his sweet Hedwig who couldn't leave to hunt.

He just... couldn't risk going back to that.

He stopped when he reached the pavement, slotting himself up against a free spot by the wall.

Plans. Plans needed to be made; he'd only vague ideas on the train.

The Leaky Cauldron, it was an inn so it had to have rooms. Harry could stay there for a night or two to get his bearings and see what his options could be.

He'd also need to go to Gringotts. The hand he slipped into his baggy trouser pockets showcased that his money pouch was still fairly heavy, but he doubted accommodation for a whole summer was cheap. So he'd swing by the bank to get more money from his trust fund vault.

Harry then wondered how much he even had in there, a mental note made to ask when he arrives. Standing around here wouldn't answer anything though.

With that, Harry snatched up the handle of the trolley and made to move on down the road,

"Hey kid! You can't take that with you!" Harry jumped, head flicking about for the source of the voice.

"Huh?"  
A man dressed up in an orange hi-vis vest with a railway logo emblazoned on it, a pair of thick circular glasses on his wrinkled face of the bald, elderly man.

"Your trolley, boy. You can't take that with you."  
"AH, oh. S-Sorry." He muttered and, under the derisive and uncaring gaze of the railway worker Harry took Hedwig's cage and his hefty trunk off of the luggage trolley. The man sniffed in the face of the twelve year old and snatched the trolley away as soon as his trunk left it.

Harry, now his heartbeat was settling, allowed a scowl to ripple over his features and levelled it (and an appropriate hand gesture) at the back of the stuffy old man.

Until he got bumped into,

"Watch it!" Harry snapped at the man, met with a sidelong glance and a quiet, derisive mutter of,

"Muggle." Giving Harry pause enough to re-evaluate him.

Grubby, lanky brown hair and a face full of uneven stubble, strolling down the street in a set of black, magenta lined, robes. Muttering to himself with his wand twirling between his fingers as if he wasn't just walking past a busy Muggle train station.

Harry rolled his eyes, so very clearly a wizard.

It was out of curiosity that he kept his eyes on him, mind drifting to how he was going to get his stuff to the Leaky Cauldron NOW.

And it was a good thing he did keep his eyes on the rude man, because he provided an answer by holding his wand out to the street (as if hailing a taxi), the tip of which glowed white briefly before:  
BANG! No one but the two of them reacted. A bang like a cannon shearing through the air as a bright purple triple-decker bus materialised before the wizard. Screeching to a halt before him and speeding off and vanishing half a minute after

"What the-"

Harry slapped his forehead, scathingly wondering why he was so surprised. The magical world transported children to Hogwarts via train, Mr Weasley had a magical flying car, why wouldn't they have some form of public transportation?

Harry, in that moment, concluded he was reading whatever he needed to to fully understand what did and did not exist in the magical world during this summer. Gathering up his stuff and making for the curb once more, Hedwig glowering up at him in clear disapproval of what she knew he was about to do. She'd never liked loud noises.

He felt ridiculous... hand out with his wand pointed out to the street. Feeling fortunate that none of the black cabs paid him any mind as he stood and waited. Only to remember that he might need to make his wand tip glow in order to summon the bus. So, with a wince and a sigh, a quiet mutter of Lumos later the tip of his wand lit up white.

BANG! It was back, screeching to a halt (out of nowhere) right in front of him.

Harry yanked back his arm and yelped, falling over his trunk and his head hitting the pavement with a SLAP.

The curses were kept under his breath as he dragged himself back to standing, head throbbing all the way through the spotty teens (clearly) well-rehearsed speech about the Knights Bus,

"You alright there, mate?"  
"Yeah," Harry grimaced, rubbing the back of his head, "Just tripped."  
"What yeh doin that for?"  
"I didn't do it on purpose." He seethed, the conductor failing to bat an eye at the child's sudden aggression, "Can you get me to Diagon Alley, please?"  
He was annoyed, but he'd be damned if he was without manners,

"Course we can, kinda service would we be otherwise?"  
Harry got the feeling he was trying to be funny or charming, but with the way he puffed out his chest all Harry could see was pompous or condescending.

He asked how much and numbly handed over the smattering of Sickles,

"Hey mate, do I know you from somewhere?"  
"Doubt it." Harry was able to ground out as he dragged his things onto the bus, offering his companion a small smile when she barked and glared at the hovering boy,

"Yeh sure? Pretty sure I've seen you somewhere before. What's yer name?"  
"...Vernon." He carefully chose, cursing at the choice after the fact. The boy hummed in thought as he tapped his chin and cheek with long, grubby fingers,

"Don't think I've ever met a '_Vernon_' before." He let it go with a shrug and offered a hearty grin, "Names Stan Shunpike, kiddo."  
He channelled Malfoy with his response,

"Charmed." and he sat down.

* * *

Five minutes later, he hobbled off at the doorway to the Leaky Cauldron with the incessant muttering of,

"Never again." Each hissing of the words met with an aggressive hoot of agreement from an equally traumatised Hedwig.

The triple-decker disappeared with another canon-shot BANG that had Harry drop his trunk on his foot when he jumped, leaving him glaring at nothing when he snapped his head around,

"Never again." He snarled.

"Hoot." Hedwig bobbed her head with a look just as vicious.

He wouldn't say the Leaky Cauldron was packed, but it certainly was busy. The bar itself was pretty empty but every table and booth seemed to have someone at it. The place was as dingy as always but lively chatter (intermingled with the sound of cutlery and glassware) helped give the place a warm feeling. Harry was wary of the crowd, but didn't feel quite as overwhelmed as he had his first time here, nary a soul looking his way as he entered and no eyes lingering. Thus allowing him to catch the eye of the only man he recognised, Tom the barkeep, and make his way over after he got an inviting grin.

"Ello' Mr Potter, you need letting into the Alley?"

Harry paused for a sec, wondering what was the best course of action before contenting them both with a head shake,

"Maybe later, if you don't mind?" Harry's voice a little low, from timidity, the boy having a little trouble meeting the kindly gentlemen's eyes and then just focussing on his pockets as he fished in it for his moleskin money pouch, "I'm actually wondering if you've got any rooms for the night?"

He saw a minute flash of worry on the man's face for the briefest of seconds,

"Everything all right?"  
"Ah, yeah, of course!" He slathered a brilliant grin onto his face that, in hindsight, did not fool him, "Just looking for somewhere to be, for a few nights at most."

Tom paused, the balding elderly man fixing him with a searching look that did not lack in compassion. Harry not quite able to keep it, once again,

"Don't worry Mr Potter, I've got plenty." He planted his elbows on the bar and leaned in a bit, a big smile finally returning to the jovial man's face as he whispered a little conspiratorially, "I can get you one a bit out of the way, if you'd like a little privacy from that lot."

A jerk of his head to the patron's over his shoulder, with a waggle of his bushy eyebrows, ripped a chuckle up Harry's throat. Tension broken Harry smiled, a lot smaller but much more genuine, as he nodded along,

"That'd be lovely. How much do I owe you?"

"I'll snag a two Galleon deposit from you now, and then it's just fifteen Sickle's a night." A look of question flitted onto Harry's face that Tom was more than happy to respond to, "You keep the place in one piece by the time you leave, you get the Galleon's back. It's just to cover any potential deep cleaning or damage."

Harry hummed a little at that before fishing into his bag and producing three Galleons.

"The deposit and two nights then please." He slid them across the counter and got a large black key and some change in return. A black leather tag attached with the number '17' in gold script,  
"Boppy!" Tom's call was sharp, followed by a crack as a familiar little creature appeared.

Wispy white hairs on it's grey scalp with big ears that were both pointy and drooped, and grey eyes just as massive as they were watery. Unlike Dobby, this elf wore a fairly clean and fitted blue dress with a white apron over the top (a cauldron stitched onto the item with some kind of golden thread),

"_sniff_ Yes, Master Tom." The sniffling elf's voice that of an aged, high pitched females,  
"Please show our guest to room 17." He jerked a thumb to a flight of stairs just left of them, the elf curtseyed and gently asked Harry to follow her. Harry called a thank you to Tom before hefting his stuff back into his grasp, following along as fast as he could.

A few minutes later he was directed to the end of of long corridor on the buildings first floor (a corridor he was certain was too long to fit in a building this size. All the way he had that bit,

_'It must be some kind of charm or something.' _ Said thought running on the back burner as the majority of his brain was met with the conundrum of, _'I wonder why she'd crying?'_

The elf, Boppy, occasionally used her apron to mop away loose tears on her cheeks as she softly explained the time meals were served downstairs and mentioned some live music event occurring the following evening, coming to the end of her speech when they arrived outside of the narrow black door with the number seventeen printed upon it,

"If youse be needing further assistance, Mister Guest may find it at the bar or be calling for Boppy in his room."

She curtseyed, she suppressed another sniffle, and she turned to scurry back down the corridor.

"Excuse me?" It blurted out as she turned her back to him, forcing her to spin back to him once again. Turning with a soft,

"Can I help you, Mister Guest?"

"Erm, is everything alright?" Harry spat out a little awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head as she simply cocked hers to the side, "It's just, you look a bit upset."  
She blinked, Harry waited, she broke the silence with a sniff and an empathetic shake of her head,

"Mister Guest does not need to concern hisself."

Harry took his turn vehemently shaking his head,  
"It's okay, what's going on?" His imploring tone seemed to make Boppy the elf stiffen. Her eyes a little searching before she crossed her arms over her chest and... pouted,  
"Its just being some of the other elveses are not nice to Boppy, today." She actually huffed after speaking, her lips twistng into a scowl as tears teetered on the edges of her big round eyes,

"Really, why not?" Harry here noted the high intonation on his voice, a bit absently. In all honesty, unlike with Dobby, Harry really felt here that he was speaking to an upset little girl,

"Boppy be being very fast with the service and Dellidel be being upset. Then the other elveses be saying Boppy is just an attention seeker. Boppy be just trying to do Boppy's job instead of standing bout."  
He took a moment to unpack that,

"Dellidel is one of the elves, yeah?" He got a nod, "And she's upset because you're working super hard and doing better than her?"

A little rueful half-smile (barely much more than a twitch of the corner of his lips) grew on as he spoke, said smile growing even larger as he saw something click in the elves big eyes,

"Yes, Boppy isn't a bad elf. Boppy is a good elf. Boppy is best elf!" She cried out before cringing, blushing and looking close to apologising for her enthusiastic shouting. Harry just laughed, a tooth grin on his face as he reiterated,

"Boppy IS best elf." Harry spoke through his chuckles as he gave her a few small nods, "Don't let Dellila or the other elves make you feel upset or bad for being good or better at something, okay?"  
"Oh I won't Mister Guest, Boppy promises she won't. Thank you Mister Guest!"  
She threw arms around his waist before squeaking and launching herself back. She offered a clumsy curtsy, complemented by flushed cheeks, before disappearing with a sharp SNAP!

As he closed the door of Room 17 behind him and finally let Hedwig out to sour over the London cityscape, he wondered if the advice he'd given Boppy was worth following himself...

...


	2. Chapter 2

_**IRRESISTIBLE**_

_Chapter 2:_

...

He had meant to go yesterday, but he'd vastly underestimated the fatigue he felt after his day on the Express. And, of course, the _'stress' _of running away from home. So he'd decided to lie down for five minutes on the plush Leaky Cauldron bed…

And woke up the next morning…

Heading down to Gringotts after a small plate of toast and scrambled eggs, the Alley sluggishly awakening as he strode down it (a few signs flipping from CLOSED to OPEN). Stood in front of a goblin: knarled hands, beady black eyes and pale skin wrapped up in a striking navy blue suit:

"Name?" Sharp, scratchy a little nasally,

"Harry Potter." Harry murmured and was roughly ordered to repeat himself, he flushed under the sneer he received when he did,

"What is your business, Mr Potter?"

"I wanted to make a withdrawal and see if I could see how much I have in my account."

"Do you have your key?"

Harry blanched, visibly paling and stiffening enough to draw a crooked eyebrow from the bank teller,

"N-No, I don't."

It was quiet, but Harry thought he heard the goblin kiss his teeth at him,

"Not at all an issue, please place both hands flat against the counter, Mr Potter." The goblin waved away Harry's concerned tone, the boy nodding and doing as instructed.

A sharp stabbing pain emanated from the tip of his right index finger, Harry yanking it back in time to see a silver spike (now dripping in crimson) vanish back into the counter,

"Hey?!"  
"Blood sample collected. Searching records for outstanding keys." The sharp nosed being looked down at a thin stack of parchment that appeared before him in a flash of black and red smoke. The being humming to himself as Harry sucked on the bleeding finger and glared up at him, "It would appear that the key for the Trust Fund of one Harry James Potter remains in the possession of one Molly Fiona Weasley. Were you aware of this?"  
Harry paused in surprise, he'd given her the key to his vault LAST SUMMER, had he really been without it that long?

"Erm, yes. I mean, I didn't realise she still had it but I did give it to her."  
The goblin sneered,

"Pity." it spat, shaking its head before rifling through the parchment on his desk, "You may either speak to this Mrs Weasley to retrieve your key, or, for the cost of 16 Sickles, you may have said key deactivated and a new one forged for you today?"  
He quickly opted for the latter, not wishing to scurry over to the Burrow to ask for his key and have to answer any awkward questions,

Like: "_Why are you here and not at the Dursley's?"_

A dirty feeling present in the pit of his stomach as he was informed that it would take about fifteen minutes and that he was to sit to the side whilst the goblin wrote up the order and sent it along. Harry offered a Galleon and he was tossed a Sickle change with a dismissive hand motion. Harry sitting straight backed and impatiently on the chairs in the centre of the banks atrium as more and more people filed in to meet with the tellers by the walls.

"Question, Mr Potter." An enquiry delivered to him just as he was losing himself in thought. Harry turning back to the goblin, a self-satisfied smirk on the goblins lips as he flicked his dark eyes from the stack of parchment to Harry's face,  
"Out of... curiosity," The word spoken with a sneer and just enough condescension to make Harry want to rip the goblins nose off, "are you also aware that the Potter Family Vault key lies in the possession of your magical guardian?"

He blinked,

"My... what?"

That response clearly pleased him,

"What Potter family vault? And who or what is my '_magical guardian?'_" Harry snapped, heart hammering a little quicker and his face burning as the goblin took that moment to laugh uproariously, guffawing loudly in the face of Harry's irritated confusion.

For his part, Harry crossed his arms. He glowered, he waited with the same impatient patience he'd seen in his relatives (tapped fingers and glaring included) before an idea hit him.

An idea that had him channelling another person he despised (the second in two days) though this time on purpose,

"I wanna speak to your manager." Harry snapped, not quite as imperious and sure of himself as Aunt Petunia, but complete with a scowl that did not slip when the goblin snapped to attention and his laughter died a quick death,

"Wizard, you don't get to-"

"I don't want to hear from you, I want to speak to your manager." He tried to hide it, he really did, but any wariness or question for his actions fell away when Harry saw the abject terror that briefly made itself a home on the goblin's face, "Now, please."

He made a spectacle of him tapping his foot as what little colour the pale skinned goblin had dripped off into the ether,

"I... I apologise for being... unprofessional Mister Potter. I do believe speaking to my supervisor an unnecessary-"

"I don't care what you _believe_." Draco again, Harry's nose turned up, his tone haughty and unimpressed in a way only his bitter rival (and equally dislikeable father) had shown to him, "You are not palming me off with that lackluster apology. Get me your manager, _**now**_, or so help me I will withdraw every last Knut I have in this bloody building and take my business elsewhere."  
Harry didn't know anything could move that fast… a beeline made for a large pair of doors to Harry's left on the opposite wall to the banks entrance. Leaving Harry to drop the act, but not his fury.

He also didn't even know if another bank existed in the magical world. He felt like, with how universally unpopular these goblins are, that if there WAS a competitor they really weren't doing too good of a job. Hell, Harry didn't even know how he'd even be able to do any of that.

But it seemed to work for Aunt Petunia regardless of logic and despite it all it clearly was working.

Left alone and seething, Harry's eyes drifted about the room. A few of the tellers (distracted from their own customers) looked over with a mixture of pained winces and satisfied smirks, one goblin (two desks down) actually offered Harry a sort of salute and grinned a toothy smile. Harry decided he'd look at the few present humans instead.

In some twisted, cruel turn of fate, of course it was the Malfoy's in line at the teller next to his. Three pairs of pureblood eyes on his as the blonde's refused to look away after Harry noticed him. The woman raised a brow before turning to face the teller before her, a thin smirk on her lips. Draco just sneered, opening his mouth to say something but the woman quickly pinched him, the boy surpressing a yelp and turning from him to glare.

Lucius however, his expression was unreadable all the way up until Harry threw an venomous glower at the Malfoy patriarch...

...and the man gave him a nod and a beaming, _**proud**_ smile,

"Nice work, Mr Potter. Don't allow _them_," The word reeked of derision, "to walk over you. I remember the first time I had to deal with their dirty insubordination."

"Lucius," The woman who could only be Draco's mother, blonde, tall and breathtaking, "you're upsetting the golden boy. He clearly doesn't know what he's done."  
His stomach turned and he snapped his gaze away from the Malfoy's. All in time to see the teller scurry back through the doors he'd fled through, only that they did not swing closed behind him and were held open by another pair of halberd wielding guards (mirroring those at the banks entrance) who looked out upon the assembled with coal black eyes.

"R-Right this w-way." A shaking hand gesturing to the doors, Harry followed on without a word.

The hallway was marble, pillars of the same stone in laid with intricate artwork in veins of gold. Dragons, wizards and what was clearly more armoured goblins. Beyond said pillars were red painted doors with names above them, some seemed to be in other languages (he saw some symbols in what he thought to be Chinese here and there) whilst others were recognisably English or familiar. His breath catching in his throat when he passed on with the name 'Weasley' a top it, another with 'Longbottom' just a few doors down.

"Where are we?"  
The guard on his left answered, the voice rumbling up from his chest like an earthquake,

"The private offices." He declared, "This one's supervisor is Master Earthcrack, who happens to be the Potter family account manager. He has agreed to meet you and hear your complaint in your families office, Mr Potter."

The guard on the right, his voice has a noticeable mouse-like squeak after a few words but was still fairly deep,

"He's also willing to answer the questions this one felt he was too good to answer."

A thump, a sharp rap of a gauntlet clad hand on the back of the already downcast goblins head. The fury under his skin wilting to embers as he stumbled and looked to be biting back fearful tears. Dagger like teeth worrying into his bottom lip and his beady eyes glittering in the light when they flickered between Harry and the assailing guard.

They were gruffly encouraged (read ordered) to keep moving, shuffling along in silence with a tight hand on

Harry winced at the goblin that was effectively being frogmarched to some disciplinary at Harry's vehement insistance.

"I'm sorry." Harry muttered, the goblin's head snapping up quickly at the boys quiet address, "What's your name?"  
"Why do you-" Surprise turned to a scowl, "Oh, are you one of THEM?! The names Daggerkeep, and don't you dare forget it!"

The left guard swooped in, Harry realising that the armoured goblin stood at least a head taller than his bespoke suit wearing kinsman. The halberd wielding being snapping him up by the scruff of his shirt, dragging him back from him before shoving him forward with a snarl of,

"You're already in enough of it, Daggerkeep. Don't make things worse."  
"Hey!" Harry shouted, their procession grinding to a halt at the young wizards shout, three pairs of eyes flicking to the incensed lad, "What are you doing, leave him alone."

A scoff thrown his way from the guard on the left, the right chose to speak first (a tinny echo present in his voice from speaking from behind a helmet),

"Mr Potter, poor customer service is something this establishment does not allow." The right,  
"And we reserve the right to deal with these transgressions as we see fit." The left.

He felt the malice rippling from them both, Harry shifting under their gaze as his hand instinctively tightened around the holly wand in his pocket,

"J-Just leave him alone." Defiant despite his heartbeat hammering away in his ears, "Y-yeah he was rude, but you don't need to be so violent."

He got a snort, not just from one of the guards, but Daggerkeep himself. The latter goblin looking even more unimpressed,

"Pathetic. Where did all your pomp go, wizard?"

He was struck again, this time he fell,

"Daggerkeep!" A roar from one of the guards, fury shaking up through them,

"Leave him alo-"

"Shut up you filthy human, I need no pity from you. Especially when this is all your faul-"

CRACK! A kick from the guard on the right, Daggerkeep was slung off of his knees and sent sprawling across the floor.

"D-Daggerkeep!" Harry yelled.

He wasn't moving.

Harry's body lurched forward before a cold hand lanced out and grabbed his forearm.

He expected to look down and see the dark gauntlet of the other guard, his free hand diving into his pocket to snatch up his wand.

But this hand was encased in a soft white glove, the image giving Harry enough pause to travel up the arm of the slate grey blazer to another goblin in an identical (though greyscaled) suit to the downed Daggerkeep.

"At ease, Mr Potter." His voice was soft, almost a little gentle (a little, sympathetic smile upturning the corners of his pale lips), "Allow me."

It was gutteral and sharp, slicing through the air at a vicious speed as this newcomer (Harry noted he had a pair of gold rimmed spectacles hanging from a chain around his neck) stepped past and around him to clearly address the looming guard. The boy couldn't tell where one word ended and the next began in this deep, rolling language, especially when the two guards stiffened and responded.

There were some sharp nods and what could only be grovelling from the armoured goblins, all of it met with a scowl and a jerk of the thumb in Harry's direction,

"Forgive us, Mr Potter." Was sent his way after a minute of being dressed down by the well dressed newcomer. He blinked, he processed it and Harry ignored them both to slip past them for Daggerkeep.

Crouched down, Harry could see a lump on his temple and some bruising around his jawline, his heart clenched in his chest and his whole body chilled as the new goblin crouched down beside him, a hand rummaging into his pocket before throwing a gentle smile Harry's way,

"At ease, Mr Potter. I'll sort this."

The rummaging hand slipped a small white pouch from his pocket and a swift manipulation of the drawstring revealed a… powder?

Bright green and glowing, and so pungent Harry could _**see **_the smell.

His nose burned at the passing whiff he received (head spinning as his mind desperately tried to associate it with something), recoiling violently as the gloved goblin brought the pouch closer to the nose of Daggerkeep.

"_Gruaaaaggh_!" Daggerkeep lurched alive and away from, what Harry assumed, was some kind of smellingsalts.

"Up Daggerkeep, I require an explanation for your behaviour."

Daggerkeep scrambled to his feet, spine ramrod straight as he stood to attention,

"Good day, Master Earthcrack. I-"

"Spare me, I don't need an explanation from you. Unfortunately I saw everything." Earthcrack, the goblin glaring imperious over at Daggerkeep. The addressed flinching before his lips twisted into a scowl and his dark eyes flared to life in fury,

"You were watching and-"

"Yes. I was watching your unnacceptable lack of respect or decorum." An interruption punctuated by Earthcrack crossing the space and jabbing a finger into the infuriated goblins chest, "And you will await me downstairs."

The second part was hissed through daggerlike teeth, the two dark eyed creatures holding equally murderous eye contact before Daggerkeep backed down and fled. Harry was met with one last filthy look from the goblin before he headed back the way they had come.

A silence settled like a blanket over the remaining goblins, before a throat was cleared and Harry's attention was dragged back to a now cordially smiling Earthcrack (glasses now placed onto bridge of his nose),

"Now Mr Potter, would you care to step into my office?"

...

_**(Authors Note): **Thank you for all the interest in the first chapter. I hope you liked this one._


	3. Chapter 3

_**IRRESISTIBLE**_

_Chapter 3:_

The room the two were ushered into was a mix of shades of brown and mauve, a large desk dominating the stout room, a trio of chairs facing it in front of Harry and a larger, arm chair behind it.

The crowning feature of the room was the back wall, an otherwise blank expanse of deep scarlet dominated by a huge painted shield. Smaller, differing, shields encompassing it. Three to its left, four to its right.

"Do you like it?"

Earthcrack, hands folded behind his back and a somewhat proud and impish smirk on his lips. Gesturing to the office space with a quirked brow, "My predecessor had the Ogden family front and centre, but I found yours to be more appropriate. Especially considering how the Ogden's aren't going to be around much longer."

He breezed past that comment, eyes firmly on the crests, eyes fixed on the suit of arms that apparently belonged to his family: a shield with some sort of flask its center, surrounded by a quintet of golden, five-leafed clover like symbols. The entire thing split into quarters where two corners were white and the others black.

"Why-"

"Mmm, the flask is an odd choice." Earthcrack picking up on the sub-audible question, a knowing look in his eyes when Harry's attention returned to the speaker, "Your family's fame is massively attributed to its advancements and inventions in the field of potions."

An image of Snape with that wall mounted crest on his robes had Harry's nose turned up for a moment, before his outrage returned to him when he realised he was being distracted,

"What those goblins did to Daggerkeep is unacceptable. It was an assault!"

"Perhaps to a human." His response was airy and bordered on dismissive, "But by Ministry law itself, we are free to govern and punish ourselves however we see fit. Daggerkeep's own behaviour was out of order and, although I do not agree with the guards handling of the situation, it was far from criminal."

"What-"

Harry wasn't exactly ignored or interrupted, but the action of Earthcrack bowing so low his glasses slipped from his nose and hung taut from their chain… he was left spluttering JUST long enough for the goblin to get a word in edgeways,

"I apologise for the actions of the goblins you encountered today and I assure you that it is not behaviour or practices we encourage within this branch of Gringotts or the company as a whole."

He bowed low, his voice was the epitome of contrite yet unwaveringly firm.

This was the end of the discussion, that was what Harry REALLY took from that statement.

However,

"And what will happen to Daggerkeep? And the guards?"

"The guards will be flogged and Daggerkeep will be demoted." The airiness returned, accompanied by a sharp nod that really threw him through a loop, "Daggerkeep's actions towards you are part of an uncomfortable pattern of behaviours he has been previously warned about. He will return to work beneath the bank and out of the public eye, as he clearly cannot be trusted around humans."

"F-flogged?!"

"For most of the world, their only interaction with our kind is via the banks. Thus many of our staff have to also act as ambassadors and representatives of our species. Thus we take situations of this nature very seriously and, in many cases, incredibly personally." His voice was a little gravelly in that moment, contrition present however, "I humbly apologise and will endeavour to ensure Teller Daggerkeep is appropriately punished and the guards are reprimanded."

The pair of them paused whilst the Harry stared down at the bowing goblin,

"I think Daggerkeep has been _punished_ enough." He eventually snarled, Earthcrack raising his head to see the cool, hard gaze of the customer and responding with a,

"Understood."

A frosty atmosphere settled over the room as Earthcrack slipped behind the desk and sat in, what Harry presumed to be, his chair. He gestured for the boy to take a seat and Harry slowly obliged,

"Now tell me, Mr Potter." A small stack of parchment shoved to the side as Harry finally sat down,  
"Erm, you can call me Harry."  
"I'm not comfortable doing that, Mr Potter, but I thank you for the gesture." Earthcrack bowed his head with a small half smile, Harry unconsciously bobbing his head in response. "Now, allow me to assist you. What did you come here for?"  
"Ah, I wanted to get my account balance and take out some money." Harry's hands in his lap and fidgeting, "Though, I've got a few more questions now."

There was a small sympathetic smile on the goblin's face as he nodded, his hands moving to (what Harry assumed to be) the drawers of his desk and whipped out a hefty stack of parchment.

"We'll get your first request squared away then you can get some money on your way out, does that work for you?"  
He mulled it over for barely a second, nodding as Earthcrack's gaze snapped down to the parchment and pushed the small golden spectacles he wore further up his nose.

"Okay, there are four vaults attributed to your name Mr Potter." Harry perked up a bit, eyes widening a little, "The first is your Trust Fund vault, which currently has: 2,800 Galleons, 137 Sickles and 220 Knuts, which I assume is the only vault you were aware of."

Harry nodded his affirmation and Earthcrack settled the parchment on the desktop,

"You see, Mr Potter, there are many families across the world with long histories and lineages within the magical community. The majority of these are the Purebloods and, with VERY few exceptions, Gringotts Bank service's their financial needs." He rested his elbows on the desk and threaded his taloned fingers together, "These families set up Family Vaults, in which they store their money, possessions and various secrets for safe keeping. Your family being no exception."

"My family is old?"  
"Incredibly. As well as having interbred with many ancient families, such as the Euphemia's and the Peverell's, the Potter line predates the bank by several centuries." He slipped a sheaf of parchment away as he spoke, "Ironically, however, yours was the last of the Ancient Houses, in Europe that is, to entrust us with your funds."

His drawer clicked closed after some rummaging, a small thin book slid across the table to Harry's confused but expectant gaze,

"This is a short primer that will likely answer most of your questions regarding both your family personally AND pureblood families in general."

Harry took the book and for the first time was grateful for the size of Dudley's cast-offs, as it fit comfortably in his pocket,

'_Still getting replaced though.'_

"Thank you." Harry did give a small, seated, bow that was received with a small nod.

"Now, the next vault will be the Potter family vault." He shuffled the parchment once more, slipping one sheet to the back and nodding with a little satisfied smirk on his face at what he saw, "Now, your Trust Fund is funded by this account also, and anything that is left over in your Trust Fund when you reach your majority will be returned to this account."

Seventeen seemed an odd age to Harry, but he decided to just allow it,

"Wait, why can't I access it now?"  
"Access to the Family Vault of any customer can only be made when an individual is recognised as an adult." Earthcrack spoke with an air of finality, "It is a practice mutually enforced by the bank and the Ministry of Magic's Department of Records."

"But why seventeen? You become an adult at-"

"Eighteen? In the Muggle world that is the case. Again, I recommend you either read your primer or ask your magical guardian for more information." He paused, having nodded quietly to himself in deep thought before slowly (in a voice barely above a whisper), "I also recommend you check in at the Department of Records as soon as possible to discuss your position as the last of your family."

There was a bit of a crushing feeling associated to that last tidbit, a chest pain that overrode Harry's curious suspicion,

"So… there really isn't…"

"You are the last of the Potter's I'm afraid. You have some cousins in the Black family and distant relatives in those with Peverell blood. But you are what is left of your family."

Silence, broken by the shuffling of paper.

"We can send you the full balance of the Potter family vault, alongside the other two, after a full audit is performed. It would be 10 Sickles per vault, sign here if that is agreeable."

"Wha… fine." Harry took his gaze from him and instead to the slip of paper slid across the desk to him. The top text was a simple _**"Audit Request for the following Vaults:"**_

His breath hitched when he read the trio of sentences beneath.

The first: _Family Vault of House Potter_. Expected.

The second: _Provisional Vault of Harry James Potter_.

The second was enough to give him pause, and he was a hairbreadth away from looking away to ask what it was, when the third caught his eye.

_Personal Vault of Lily Evans (subject to acceptance)_.

"My mum had a vault?"

"Of course. A remnant of her financial status before marrying your father. It became more of a seperate savings and investment account, separate from your father's own assets." There was a tone of approval, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips as he spoke, "Very clever I will say. Not many in her position even bother to differentiate their assets from their rich spouses."

He nodded along a bit, honestly unsurprised when hearing it put like that. Despite how truly little he knew of his parents in general, he was very comfortable with the idea that his mother was an intelligent woman.

"It says 'subject to acceptance' here, why is that?" Harry had some idea on the meaning and Earthcrack was eager to elaborate,

"Your mothers Will left the Vault to you. That Will, however, was read whilst you were a baby and thus, you weren't able to accept it."

Harry gave the barest of nods, eyes fixed on the words. They _burned_ to see but he just couldn't tear his gaze away.

"She knew she was going to die, then." A statement, but answered as if otherwise,

"Most had a general idea, particularly muggleborns like Mrs Potter."

Harry's own lip pursed this time, biting back a scowl as a memory resurfaced. A pleading woman silenced by a flash of green light.

Harry failed and he scowled at a Dark Lord he could only see in his mind's eye.

Earthcrack coughed a bit shakily, Harry noted a small tremor in his voice and hands when his attention returned to him,

"Her will is easily retrievable and can be delivered to you here if you give me a few minutes."

He was given those minutes by a VERY eager preteen, said young man left with a small, dark bowl hovering at his side as a result.

"What is-" He spotted an inscription and slid to his feet to step closer, "Behold the Neo-Pensieve?"

A questioning look made its home on Harry's face and Earthcrack's entire demeanour soured, lips pursed and face scrunched up as he spat,

"This is a Neo-Pensieve, a device made to project impressions of memories to be viewed at a later date." He took a sharp breath through his teeth and (whilst looking as if he'd bitten into a lemon) he added, "I am… obliged… to inform you that this product was created with generous funding from the MatiSYahU Bank."

His eyes narrowed a little in confusion,

"Matis- wha-" He tried the name a few times on his tongue and just gave up with a quiet exclamation of, "What is that?"

"They are both NOT a bank and no company you should be concerning yourself with." Earthcrack roared out his retort, wincing himself in the face of Harry's flinch. A confused, and a little incensed, twelve year old glaring over at a quickly apologetic goblin, "Forgive me. They are con artists, they give 'loans' to individuals but the collateral they require…"

He didn't continue and outright refused to elaborate when pushed, silence settling over them once again as Earthcrack busied himself with the device.

A fizzling sound followed by a low, deep thrum filled up the room. Harry's attention brought to the device which he finally realised resemblance to a projector. A beam of silver light spat out of the lens of the device, stopping dead a few feet before it, forming an odd blob like shape in the space between Harry and it. It swirled and moved, like ripples on a pond, as it stretched and expanded into the rough silhouette of a person.

Then, in an instant, everything leapt into focus.

And his mother stood before him…

Not tall, maybe a few inches taller than Harry. Draped in fairly Muggle looking clothes with her long falling just above the waistband of her jeans.

She stood as a chrome representation of herself, paused in time in a form reminiscent of the Hogwarts ghosts. Just transparent enough to see the dark shape of the desk behind her, but opaque enough not to see details.

There was a small bell sound and, as if signalled, his mother moved, arms coming up from her sides to fold over her chest,

"I recognise this as my last will and testament. My name is Lily Joanne Potter, and I'm leaving everything to my son, Harry James Potter."

"I'll give you some privacy." A quick word from Earthcrack, more a murmur as he swiftly exited the room.

He didn't need to, Harry didn't notice it at all, he was focussed on his mother...

She looked impatient, her arms folded over her chest and her foot tapping a sharp, impatient rhythm on the floor.

Though the woman was a silvery apparition, it was still breathtaking to see his mother in something other than a moving photograph. Moving,

'That's what my mum sounds like.'

There was a click, oddly like a door closing, Harry's mother rolling her eyes in response,

"Finally. Eugh, honestly, I swear he was taking his sweet time on purpose." She scowled whilst looking at something over Harry's shoulder.

Her arms unfolded and her fingers threaded into her hair as she unleashed an explosive sigh.

Those eyes snapped to him, so fast it actually made him jump. Her demeanour had changed, gaze soft and a warm smile curled up the corners of her lips,

"Hi baby, I hope you're okay." Such a warm smile, Harry's heart stopping in the face of it, "I got Snarlkick, the lovely goblin you might have heard huffing in the background, to get out so we could chat for a sec."

She rolled her shoulders back and actually settled into a small crouch, now just below eye level of her child,

"I've written out a will in case this one becomes irrelevant. But, if you're hearing this one, that's… I'm guessing Voldemort killed me if you're hearing this one."

Her smile twisted into a frown, eyes downcast as Harry's heart climbed into his throat and felt the heat leave his body. She shrugged,

"No point fussing about it now, there's nothing I can do about it." Flippant, she rolled from the balls of her feet to her heels and a half smile, "Besides, at least I'm leaving a will. Your dad just wrote down which of his mates are getting stuff and left you the rest. He's out in the lobby right now being a nuisance."

Lily rolled her eyes but a rueful smirk and a small glimmer settled in her gaze, her eyes drifting from Harry to stare off for a moment. Drawn out of her musings by a small bell sound that had her fixing Harry with her gaze again,

"I'm leaving you everything I have; which, honestly, amounts to a few galleons and my old school supplies. Pet got most of the inheritance from mum and dad, she's the oldest after all, and I haven't exactly lived long enough to make it big in the wizarding world."

She snickered a bit and, despite himself, Harry felt his face tugged into a smile at the sight. Her cheeks dimpled and her eyes crinkled in mirth before she composed herself a little.

His mothers eyes finding his again with a look of deep longing, Harry's breath hitching in his throat at how truly lost she looked in that moment,

"There's so much I want to say to you. I had it all on a list to make sure too, but it just… doesn't feel right to read from a script right now. I honestly just want to ditch this whole thing, run home and snuggle up with you right now." Lily looked so… broken; her arms crossed again with her fingers digging into her biceps as she continued speaking, "You're with your Uncle Mooney right now, first time we've seen him in months. He honestly looked so haggard when Peter brought him in, but 60 seconds with you and he was shining like the sun."

She laughed a bit as she finished her sentence, though a dark, mostly irritated, look briefly settled onto her features,

"Honestly, I don't understand why people are so suspicious of him these days. Even your idiot dad has his reservations, and I know he's dumb but he's the one constantly parroting that his 'furry little problem' doesn't define him."

Harry wasn't given the time to register any of that before his mother was addressing him again with a smirk and a snicker,

"I love your Dad, sweetheart. But he's a grade O dumbass, always has been."  
Her smirk, rueful and big, her entire body screaming out that it was true, she really loved his dad with all her heart.

"The lot of them are idiots to be honest. Sirius is out there goading the Death Eaters into fighting him and, apparently, trying to imply he's our Secret Keeper so he can... get targeted more? Moron's got a death sentence I swear." There was a quiver in her voice and she shook her head, "Then there's Remus, scurrying off to who knows where on secret missions for Dumbledore, whilst Peter's just laying low so nobody figures out he's our _ACTUAL _Secret Keeper. All three, no, all four of those idiot Marauders just throwing themselves into danger."

Lily sniffed, a loopy smile on her face as she looks so close to tears,  
"Baby, we couldn't have asked for better people to look out for us." She choked out a bit and had to compose herself. Lost to her desperate attempts to fan away tears and suppress sobs, Harry wishing to lunge forth and hug her once more,

"Heh, Peter's always bringing you toys you know, he and your dad got you this baby broomstick from France. Hovers around about a foot in the air and automatically avoids people and obstacles." That crooked, loopy grin back, "You balance on it so well, chased Padfoot around for about an hour before I left."

"I'm rambling, sorry. It's just, you really are the light of my life, Harry. I can't even express how much I love you, baby."

Her eyes glittering and Harry made an involuntary move to go to her, to throw himself into her arms and sob until he couldn't shed another tear. Tempering himself by the bitter reality that he'd slip right through her,

"You're always on the move these days. I swear you started kicking me as soon as your legs formed." A smirk twisted her lips and she shook with suppressed laughter, "For such a quiet little thing, you made it very clear you wanted _out_ of me."

She descended into giggles, a lovely sound that clenched at Harry's heart and forced tears to prickle at the corner of his eyes once again,

Another sharp bell sounded off in the background, this time Lily turned her head in its direction, face taking an unreadable expression when her attention returned to him,

"I'm so sorry." A croak, her voice small as her fingers dug ever deeper into her arms. Agitation making itself known on her face as her eyebrows knit together. She took a steadying breath that she released as her whole body shook. "If you're hearing this then he got us. Or at least me. And I am so sorry that I'm leaving you alone."

"I promised that I'd be there to protect you forever and ever, and I'm sorry that your stupid mum is a liar."

"I should have pushed to get us out of the country. I should have just taken you and ran. I should have done so much more for you. And this just proves I didn't do enough."

"I'm sorry but I love you, okay? I love you more than anything and anyone. And I love you more than I love anything or anyone." She shook her head and plastered a huge smile onto her face, "Grow up big and strong. Live a happy life. And know your father and I will love you forever."

A final bell tinkled in the background and the teary eyed and smiling visage of his mother vanished. Leaving Harry to blink and stare at where she had once been…

...before falling apart himself in a slew of wails and ugly sobs.

...

_**[Authors Note]**_ Thanks for waiting and sorry for the extra long chapter and how long it took. Hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you for all the support thus far, hopefully I'll see you next chapter.


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